I 

116TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 2982 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a study of the barriers 

for women veterans to health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MAY 23, 2019 

Mr. CUNNINGHAM (for himself and Mrs. MURPHY) introduced the following 

bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to conduct a 

study of the barriers for women veterans to health care 

from the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Women Veterans 

5 Health Care Accountability Act’’. 

6 SEC. 2. STUDY OF BARRIERS FOR WOMEN VETERANS TO 

7 HEALTH CARE FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF 

8 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

9 (a) STUDY REQUIRED.—The Secretary of Veterans 

10 Affairs shall conduct a comprehensive study of the barVerDate Sep 11 2014 03:30 Jun 07, 2019 Jkt 089200 PO 00000 Frm 00001 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H2982.IH H2982

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1 riers to the provision of comprehensive health care by the 

2 Department of Veterans Affairs encountered by women 

3 who are veterans. In conducting the study, the Secretary 

4 shall— 

5 (1) survey women veterans who seek or receive 

6 hospital care or medical services provided by the De7 partment of Veterans Affairs as well as women vet8 erans who do not seek or receive such care or serv9 ices; 

10 (2) administer the survey to a representative 

11 sample of women veterans from each Veterans Inte12 grated Service Network; and 

13 (3) ensure that the sample of women veterans 

14 surveyed is of sufficient size for the study results to 

15 be statistically significant and is a larger sample 

16 than that of the study referred to in subsection 

17 (b)(1). 

18 (b) USE OF PREVIOUS STUDIES.—In conducting the 

19 study required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall build 

20 on the work of the studies of the Department of Veterans 

21 Affairs titled— 

22 (1) ‘‘National Survey of Women Veterans in 

23 Fiscal Year 2007–2008’’; and 

24 (2) ‘‘Study of Barriers for Women Veterans to 

25 VA Health Care 2015’’. 


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1 (c) ELEMENTS OF STUDY.—In conducting the study 

2 required by subsection (a), the Secretary shall conduct re3 search on the effects of the following on the women vet4 erans surveyed in the study: 

5 (1) The perceived stigma associated with seek6 ing mental health care services. 

7 (2) The effect of driving distance or availability 

8 of other forms of transportation to the nearest med9 ical facility on access to care. 

10 (3) The availability of child care. 

11 (4) The acceptability of integrated primary 

12 care, women’s health clinics, or both. 

13 (5) The comprehension of eligibility require14 ments for, and the scope of services available under, 

15 hospital care and medical services. 

16 (6) The perception of personal safety and com17 fort in inpatient, outpatient, and behavioral health 

18 facilities. 

19 (7) The gender sensitivity of health care pro20 viders and staff to issues that particularly affect 

21 women. 

22 (8) The effectiveness of outreach for health care 

23 services available to women veterans. 


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1 (9) The location and operating hours of health 

2 care facilities that provide services to women vet3 erans. 

4 (10) Such other significant barriers as the Sec5 retary considers appropriate. 

6 (d) DISCHARGE BY CONTRACT.—The Secretary shall 

7 enter into a contract with a qualified independent entity 

8 or organization to carry out the study and research re9 quired under this section. 

10 (e) MANDATORY REVIEW OF DATA BY CERTAIN DE11 PARTMENT DIVISIONS.— 

12 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall ensure 

13 that the head of each division of the Department of 

14 Veterans Affairs specified in paragraph (2) reviews 

15 the results of the study conducted under this sec16 tion. The head of each such division shall submit 

17 findings with respect to the study to the Under Sec18 retary for responsibilities relating to health care 

19 services for women veterans. 

20 (2) SPECIFIED DIVISIONS.—The divisions of the 

21 Department of Veterans Affairs specified in this 

22 paragraph are the following: 

23 (A) The Center for Women Veterans estab24 lished under section 318 of title 38, United 

25 States Code. 


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1 (B) The Advisory Committee on Women 

2 Veterans established under section 542 of such 

3 title. 

4 (f) REPORT.—Not later than 30 months after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall sub6 mit to Congress a report on the study required under this 

7 section. The report shall include recommendations for 

8 such administrative and legislative action as the Secretary 

9 considers appropriate. The report shall also include the 

10 findings of the head of each division of the Department 

11 specified under subsection (e)(2) and of the Under Sec12 retary for Health. 

Æ 


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